fatty acid and composition of white food sorghums grown in different

Proceedings of the 54th Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics Annual Congress
Matera, Italy – 27/30 September, 2010
ISBN 978-88-904570-0-5
Poster Communication Abstract – 6.31
FATTY ACID AND COMPOSITION OF WHITE FOOD SORGHUMS
GROWN IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
MASSARDO D.R.*, PONTIERI P.*, DI FIORE R.**, TROISI J.**, BEAN S.R.***, OKOT
J.****, ALIFANO P.*****, DEL GIUDICE L.*
*) IGB “ABT” - CNR, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131 Naples (Italy)
**) Laboratorio Chimico Merceologico Az. Spec. CCIAA, 80143 Naples (Italy)
***) USDA-ARS, CGAHAR, Manhattan, KS 66502 (USA)
****) Victoria Seeds Ltd, Kampala (Uganda)
*****) DiSteBa, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce (Italy)
Sorghum hybrid, sorghum pure line, chemical composition, fatty acids, enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay
Sorghum is one of the most drought-tolerant cereal grain crops and require little input during
growth, but, as with other crops, yield better with good husbandry (ICRISAT/FAO, 1996). Whit
increasing world population and decreasing water supplies, it represent an important crop for future
use. While sorghum is a vital crop for millions of people in parts of Africa and Asia, it is an underutilized resource in most of developed countries, it being primarily used as animal food. In the
developed countries, there is today a growing demand for gluten-free food and beverages from
people with celiac disease and other intolerances to wheat, who cannot eat products from wheat,
barley, or rye (Taylor et al 2006). From a nutritional point of view, food-grade sorghum flour turns
out to be a very interesting product. Particularly, unsaturated fatty acids are of great importance to
diet, because they are significant components of the biological membranes, and play the role os
fluidity modulators in them. Recently, there has been increased interest in sorghum as a gluten-free
cereal to substitute the gluten-rich cereals in the diet of people suffering from celiac disease
(Fenster 2003). The development of white, tan-plant, so-called food-grade, sorghum lines has
enabled white, bland-tasting flour to be produced from sorghum grain. This flour is useful in food
products because it does not impart unusual colors or strong flavors, and it may be desired over
maize flour for these reasons (Waniska and Rooney 2002).
In the present work chemical composition and fatty acid content of both hybrid and pure line
food-grade white sorghum cultivars grown in various areas of the world were studied. The products
were investigated to measure moisture, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and fat content. Fatty
acid composition was also determined. Slight variations in both protein and in fiber contents were
observed among cultivars with little difference in their percentage content among the cultivars.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) demonstrated, in all sorghum flour analyzed, the
absence of toxic gliadins for celiac patients. The present results demonstrate that food-grade
sorghum varieties are potentially able to grow either in arid tropical and sub-tropical regions as
Africa and Asia or in dry regions of America and in Mediterranean countries.
- (ICRISAT)/FAO 1996. The World Sorghum and Millet Economies. ICRISAT, Patancheru,
India/FAO, Rome
- Taylor JRN, Schober TJ, Bean SR. 2006. J Cereal Science 44:252-271
- Fenster C. 2003. In US Grains Council 43rd Board of Delegates Meeting July 2003
Minneapolis
- Waniska RD, Rooney LW. 2002. In: Leslie JF, editor. Sorghum and millet diseases. Ames,
IA: Iowa State Press. p. 327-335
The research was partly supported by the Regione Campania (PSR Campania 2007-2013, Misura 124) to P.
Pontieri and by Istituto Banco di Napoli, Fondazione special grant “research project” to L. Del Giudice.
P. Pontieri was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Istituto Banco di Napoli, Fondazione.